John Carroll is Adjunct Professor of Trumpet at The University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio, TX, and Principal Trumpet of the San Antonio Philharmonic.
John began his professional career, while still a graduate student at the New England Conservatory of Music, as Principal Trumpet of the Boston Opera Orchestra under the leadership of Sarah Caldwell. During this time he also performed as a freelance musician with the Boston Symphony and the Boston Pops Orchestras. He has played Principal Trumpet in orchestras conducted by Leonard Bernstein, Seiji Ozawa, Klaus Tennstedt and Michael Tilson Thomas and Lead Trumpet for many pop and jazz artists including Ella Fitzgerald and Dizzy Gillespie.
Dr. Carroll is a dedicated teacher. He keeps an active private studio and has been the trumpet instructor at the University of the Incarnate Word since 2010. His students have placed first in All-State orchestra and jazz and have held positions in some of the top orchestras, jazz groups, and music school faculties in the U.S. and Mexico. He holds a Bachelor of Music Performance degree and Performer’s Certificate from Indiana University, a Master of Music degree in conducting from the University of Texas at San Antonio, and a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Trumpet pedagogy from the University of Texas Austin.
An avid chamber musician, John has performed hundreds of brass quintet recitals and educational concerts for the San Antonio Symphony and the San Antonio Brass, Inc. He has also performed chamber music with the Olmos Ensemble, the Sunriver Music Festival, Camerata San Antonio, Musical Offerings, the Cactus Pear Music Festival, the Indiana University Percussion Ensemble, Gunther Schuller’s Contemporary Chamber Ensemble and the Fromm Contemporary Music Festival at Tanglewood.
As a conductor Dr. Carroll led the San Antonio BrassBand to a First Division win at the 2018 North American Brass Band Association Competition. He is a charter member of the International Trumpet Guild, and a founding member of the San Antonio Brass, Inc.
John’s other interests include writing poetry, drawing, musical composition, jazz improvisation, and the use of the computer in creating music.